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Friday, September 6, 2013

Finding a Better Bottom Line

At the end of last week's post, I
mentioned the new plan to increase the number of people with
disabilities employed by companies that do business with the federal
government. While this plan has a solid philanthropic base, companies
like Walgreens are hiring more people with disabilities not out of
moral obligation, but because it's economically sound.

Right now, companies are typically
asked to employ people with disabilities out of kindness or civic
responsibility. Even the aforementioned federal plan is more focused
on philanthropy than smart business planning. Governor Jack Markell
of Delaware thinks this mindset will soon change, and he hopes to
galvanize that change with his blueprint, “A Better Bottom Line: Employing Individuals with Disabilities”.

Governor Markell talked with CEO of
Walgreens, Greg Wasson, about his high percentage of employees with
disabilities. Approximately 50 percent of employees at Walgreens
distribution centers in Connecticut and South Carolina have some sort
of mental or physical disability, and Wasson says it's no accident.
Those centers perform as well as, if not better than, any other
Walgreens facility. Markell also talked to Neill Christopher, vice
president of Maryland company Acadia Windows and Doors. Christopher
says that although he was at first reluctant to hire his first
employee with a disability for fear that window manufacturing would
pose too great a danger, he is now happy to report that six out of 60
employees have disabilities, and the company is operating more safely
than ever. He also points out that, along with increased safety, his
new employees make the company kinder.

Further, Computer Aid, Inc., an IT
company, recently pledged to make people with autism three percent of
their consultant base, and global software company, SAP, has also
recognized that because of their focus and attention to detail,
people with autism often excel at software testing.

After talking with company heads and
seeing firsthand the gratitude and happiness of employed members of
the disabled community, Markell teamed up with Governor Dennis
Daugaard of South Dakota, who happens to be a CODA (child of deaf
adults), to devise a blueprint that gives governors the necessary
tools to increase employment within the disabled community. Markell
says the real focus of the blueprint is on the ability and not the
disability. (Three cheers for that!) He foresees the Department of
Labor partnering with companies who are looking for employees with
certain skills, disabled or not. It's what they are able to do that
matters.

The blueprint also includes plans for
better preparing youths with disabilities, hopefully encouraging
employment and more independence through education and access to
career opportunities and exploration.

Markell says the plan is a win-win.
Employers will have qualified, specialized employees, and those
employees will gain a certain sense of pride and fulfillment.
Additionally, Markell notes that taxpayers also win as fewer people
rely on benefits and join the workforce themselves.

I think the best part about this is
that it seems so direct: the plan looks straight past disability and
squarely at ability. That sounds like simple logic to me.

What do you think about this blueprint?
Do you think it will catch on?